Philosophy

Philosophy articles feature reflection and analysis about public life, values, ethics, and morals.

All philosophy articles at Brownstone Institute are translated into multiple languages.

Filter posts by category

morality, virtue, and courage

The Shift from Personal to Positional Morality

By / / / 9 minute read / Articles
SHARE | PRINT | EMAIL

Moral courage is risky: it has a price, which is why it is called courage. As Aristotle famously declared, “Courage is the first virtue because it makes all other virtues possible.” If that is true, and it is, then the power to reverse attempts to remake Western society into one devoid of the fundamental moral values that enable all individuals to thrive peacefully lies ultimately – and only – within each individual. 

The Shift from Personal to Positional Morality Read Journal Article

fight for freedom

Join Forces and Fight for Freedom

By / / / 4 minute read / Articles
SHARE | PRINT | EMAIL

We must all join forces in the fight for the right to express ourselves, to think, to doubt, to come together in the public square to discuss, reason and shape society. This battle will not be easy, and there are many indications that it will soon intensify. But surrender is not an option, for what is at stake is a future fitting for humanity. We must fight for it in brotherhood, armed with compassion, courage and integrity.

Join Forces and Fight for Freedom Read Journal Article

ethical challenges

Ethical Challenges Arising from the Grand Illusion

By / / , / 15 minute read / Articles
SHARE | PRINT | EMAIL

The preliminary results of the mRNA vaccine randomized controlled trials (RCTs) by Pfizer and Moderna were celebrated as spectacularly successful and so governments and the media assumed that the solution had been found. A procession of leaders assured the public that the vaccines were so effective that once injected, you would not become infected or pass infection on to others.

Ethical Challenges Arising from the Grand Illusion Read Journal Article

human sacrifice

Human Sacrifice, Then and Now 

By / / , / 8 minute read / Articles
SHARE | PRINT | EMAIL

The peoples of the Mayan and Aztec empires were surrounded by monuments to the greatness of their leaders and their faith, and they celebrated both. We too look back in awe at what they built despite what we know: their social systems were bloody and barbaric in ways we cannot imagine now. And yet when we study their histories in our own times, with the appropriate amount of humility, we face a similar problematic disorientation. 

Human Sacrifice, Then and Now  Read Journal Article

shed the mask

Everyone Should Shed the Mask 

By / / , / 10 minute read / Articles
SHARE | PRINT | EMAIL

Love, kindness, honesty, respect, creativity and freedom are necessary for human flourishing. Sadly, many still embrace the mask as if it is the only truth that exists. If society is to change, all will need to see and peel away the polish. Then, we will have to work together to replace the emptiness it covers with a society rooted in genuine morality and positive human values.

Everyone Should Shed the Mask  Read Journal Article

human rights matter

How Long Did It Take Them Realize that Human Rights Matter?

By / / , / 9 minute read / Articles
SHARE | PRINT | EMAIL

We face the question of how to purity test our leaders—both official and unofficial—in light of all the devastation we’ve witnessed during the response to COVID-19. If you believe, as I do, that the importance of this issue presently eclipses that of any other, then every step should be taken to select for leaders who opposed lockdowns as early and as vocally as possible.

How Long Did It Take Them Realize that Human Rights Matter? Read Journal Article

Ineffective Maltruism

Ineffective Maltruism

By / / , / 14 minute read / Articles
SHARE | PRINT | EMAIL

The current fad of the financially fabulous is Effective Altruism, which essentially involves promising to give your money while you are still alive to causes and organizations that “do good,” while simultaneously tethering them to your whims through financial dependence. A very specific example of this is the massive money going to barely-surviving but purportedly legit media organizations (or you can just buy the Washington Post.) You get good press when you own it.

Ineffective Maltruism Read Journal Article

death in a nutshell

The Boy Who Trapped Death in a Nut

By / / / 9 minute read / Articles
SHARE | PRINT | EMAIL

Life is a messy, risky, and at times lethal adventure, and while it’s perfectly acceptable and in fact compassionate to try to lower this risk to some extent, a complete elimination of all risk would create a dull, lifeless world devoid of conviviality and meaning. The people of Jack’s town are willing to accept some level of pain, sadness and suffering in order to reap the concomitant rewards that come with living life to the fullest.

The Boy Who Trapped Death in a Nut Read Journal Article

Fear of Covid is the opiate of the people. 

Fear of Covid Is the Opiate of the People

By / / , / 8 minute read / Articles
SHARE | PRINT | EMAIL

Like any old school respiratory virus, this one made us feel lousy, albeit with a different constellation of symptoms. We handled it the same way as other viral illnesses: we drank extra water, took some home remedies, and tried to get some extra sleep. A few years ago, no one made a big deal about, or needed to categorize, being sick like this. People rode it out. No one cared what you had. Or didn’t have.

Fear of Covid Is the Opiate of the People Read Journal Article